ATAG
audits:
worth your while 🔎
Practical tips and examples to get started
Thibaud Colas
@
FOSDEM
2025
Why we’re here
Standards, authoring tools, accessibility by default
95.9% of home pages have accessibility issues
We need accessibility standards
- WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
- ATAG: Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines
- ☝️ Our focus today
- UAAG: User Agent Accessibility Guidelines
- WAI-ARIA: Web Accessibility Initiative – Accessible Rich Internet Applications
- EN 301 549: Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services
We need authoring tools
We need support for social media posts. Blogging. Apps. Videos. Slides. Livestreams. Chat. Crafting HTML by hand is possible but error-prone.
Authors need:
- Assistance
- Documentation
- Templates
- Quality control
- Accessible defaults
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0
Version 2.0 in 2015
A. Make the authoring tool user interface accessible
All Part A guidelines
A.1. Authoring tool user interfaces follow applicable accessibility guidelines
A.3. Editing-views are operable
- A.3.1. (For the authoring tool user interface) Provide keyboard access to authoring features
- A.3.2. (For the authoring tool user interface) Provide authors with enough time
- A.3.3. (For the authoring tool user interface) Help authors avoid flashing that could cause seizures
- A.3.4. (For the authoring tool user interface) Enhance navigation and editing via content structure
- A.3.5. (For the authoring tool user interface) Provide text search of the content
- A.3.6. (For the authoring tool user interface) Manage preference settings
- A.3.7. (For the authoring tool user interface) Ensure that previews are at least as accessible as in-market user agents
ATAG example: in a Content Management System (CMS)
ATAG in practice: Part A
My highlights – things that go far beyond WCAG 🚀
Part A: Make the authoring tool user interface accessible
- A.2.1. Make alternative content available to authors
- Alt text for all images, decorative or no!
- A.3.2.1 Auto-Save
- Either no session time limit, or auto-saving
- A.3.5. Provide text search of the content
- Browser built-in search and
hidden="until-found"
to the rescue?
- Browser built-in search and
- A.4.2. Document the user interface, including all accessibility features
- 💅🎉👏
Documenting features: for developers and for users
Docs coverage for devs: 80%. For editors: 52 of 145 features (35%)
ATAG in practice: Part B
To infinity… and beyond WCAG! 🌈
B.1. Fully automatic processes produce accessible content
B.2.3. Assist authors with managing alternative content for non-text content
(as in – help people creating alt text (and captions))
B.2.4. Assist authors with accessible templates
B.3.1. Assist authors in checking for accessibility problems
B.3.2. Assist authors in repairing accessibility problems
Example: alt text
B.3.2. example implementation
Get started
Prerequisites
(which you can arrive at iteratively)
- Good documentation of project features
- Good demo setup to test said features
- (Some) knowledge of ATAG
- Report format
And that’s it! 🎊 👀
Report templates
Markdown: atag_wagtail_template.md
18ATAG Report Tool
Authoring Tools List
Beyond WCAG and ATAG
Thank you! ❤️
Come say hi and ask questions?
- Mastodon: @thibaudcolas@fosstodon.org
- Bluesky: @thibaudcolas.bsky.social
- X: @thibaud_colas
- LinkedIn: Thibaud Colas
- GitHub: @thibaud_colas
Progress for Wagtail
Conformance Level | ATAG | Part A | Part B |
---|---|---|---|
Pass | 28 (+6 🎉) | 14 (+2 🤘) | 14 (+4 🚀) |
Fail | 24 (-6) | 15 (-2) | 9 (-4) |
Not applicable | 13 | 4 | 9 |
Per ATAG report tool
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